The mutant virus "Omicron strain", which is said to be highly infectious and is spreading rapidly.
There are questions that many infected patients have.
"When did you get infected?"
From the story of a woman in her 40s who was infected with the Omicron strain, the characteristics of the Omicron strain and the difficulty of countermeasures became apparent.
Although the PCR test before departure was negative both times
The Omicron strain was infected by a female office worker in her 40s who normally works in Kenya and returned to Japan on December 19th last year on vacation.
I headed to Japan from Nairobi, Kenya via Dubai, but I had two PCR tests, 48 hours and 6 hours before leaving Kenya, both of which were negative.
However, about 20 hours after leaving Kenya, a quarantine inspection at Narita Airport confirmed that he was infected with the new coronavirus.
The woman said, "I took special precautions both at work and in my personal life to prevent infection from a few weeks before returning to Japan. I was surprised and shocked by the results because I had no subjective symptoms." I talk.
38 degrees fever and cough pain after the fever goes down
After the infection was confirmed, I stayed at a hotel near the airport for medical treatment, but at night I gradually began to feel sore throat, and the next morning, I had a fever of 38 degrees and symptoms of coughing. I did.
I took an antipyretic, and although my fever went down in about a day, I had a sore throat, a runny nose, and so on.
On the 4th day after hotel medical treatment, analysis revealed that there was a strong suspicion of Omicron strains, and all were hospitalized according to the country's original policy of hospitalization.
The woman recalls, "By the time I was hospitalized, my sore throat and runny nose had gradually eased, and as a result of CT examination, no lung inflammation was found, and I was relieved to be diagnosed as mild."
After that, he recovered steadily and was discharged on January 4th.
"When did you get infected?"
Questions remain for women.
The two tests before departure were negative, but the question was, "When did you get infected?"
"Omicron strains were found in South Africa, and Kenya had been infected for a few days before departure, so I didn't have a face-to-face meeting, let alone a dinner, in the field. I always wore a mask and I haven't talked to people for a long time, and I can't think of the timing of the infection. It may be that the result of the PCR test was correct in the first place, but if I have any idea, the venue of the PCR test or the flight from Kenya to South Africa Was it crowded? I felt the infectivity of the South African strain. "
Doctor "Many patients have no idea"
Kenji Tsushima, deputy director of the International University of Health and Welfare Narita Hospital, who is a female doctor, said that there are few patients who have no idea about this infection, although there may be problems with test accuracy and congestion on board. It is said that there is no such thing.
On top of that, he says that the susceptibility to infection is characteristic of the Omicron strain.
Kenji Tsushima, Deputy Director of International University of Health and Welfare Narita Hospital
"In the Delta strain, inflammation occurred in the lungs and the so-called" lower respiratory tract ", and many patients complained of suffocation, whereas in the Omicron strain, the nose. Inflammation appears in the "upper respiratory tract" such as the throat. For this reason, there are almost no patients who need an oxygen inhaler so far, but symptoms such as coughing and nasal discharge are likely to occur, and the virus is scattered around. Easy to do. Many people are mildly ill, but their actions can unknowingly spread the infection. "
Recently, some patients with moderate illness
The hospital, which has been accepting patients with Omicron strains since December, was initially mildly ill, but with the spread of the infection, it is said that patients with moderate illness have recently been seen.
By January 13, the hospital had diagnosed a total of two men in their 70s with an underlying illness and a man in their 20s who had not been vaccinated with moderate disease requiring an oxygen inhaler.
Dr. Tsushima said, "If the population parameter of patients increases, a certain number of people will get worse, and it will gradually increase. Infection of high-risk people such as bedridden and elderly people with underlying diseases will increase. Is a concern. "
Even though it is highly infectious, "be careful"
So what can we do to stop the infectious Omicron?
Dr. Tsushima emphasized that the basic measures should be taken thoroughly.
Kenji Tsushima, Deputy Director, International University of Health and Welfare Narita Hospital
"Even though it is highly infectious, you should still be careful. Take basic measures such as wearing a mask, washing your hands, and dividing your meal time. I think it is important to do it well. And I think it is important to hurry up the third vaccination of the elderly and control the infection to people who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill.
"